Last updated on May 11th, 2023 at 11:29 pm
Most baby birds depend on their mother for feeding, as well as the father to hunt for food and protection. However, the baby birds of some species are more helpless and take longer to grow into a fledgling. These factors and other issues influence baby birds’ stay with their mothers.
Baby birds typically stay with their mother until they fledge partially and leave the nest, around 2 to 4 weeks. But leaving the nest doesn’t imply abandoning the mother, as the fledglings of many species are still dependent. Some baby birds stay with their mothers for months.
Nesting Periods Of Baby Birds
Newborn baby birds are hatchlings, and a vast majority of hatchlings are born naked with their eyes closed.
They aren’t capable of much mobility, either, which means that they depend on their mother or both parents for food and protection.
But several species don’t have such limitations.
Ducks, geese, and a few other avian species have baby birds hatching from the eggs with their eyes open, some with down feathers and reasonable mobility.
These baby birds don’t stay in a nest after hatching. However, such hatchlings also don’t abandon their mother immediately.
For all the other species’ baby birds born naked and without sight and mobility, the mother and the father have to feed the hatchlings and protect them.
They grow from hatchlings to nestlings, eventually to fledglings. Only fledglings leave the nest, but not nestlings or hatchlings.
Here are the nestling periods of baby birds of 30 common avian species found in the USA:
- American crow – 20 to 40 days
- American goldfinch – 11 to 17 days
- American robin – around 13 days
- Black-capped chickadee – 12 to 16 days
- Blue-headed vireo – 12 to 13 days
- Blue-winged warbler – 8 to 10 days
- Blue jay – 17 to 21 days
- Canada goose – 42 to 50 days
- Carolina wren – 10 to 16 days
- Common grackle – 10 to 17 days
- Dark-eyed junco – 10 to 13 days
- Downy woodpecker – 18 to 21 days
- European starling – 21 to 23 days
- Great blue heron – 49 to 81 days
- Great horned owl – 30 to 37 days
- House finch – 12 to 19 days
- House sparrow – 10 to 14 days
- Mallard – 23 to 30 days
- Mourning dove – 12 to 15 days
- Northern cardinal – 7 to 13 days
- Northern flicker – 24 to 27 days
- Northern mockingbird – 12 to 13 days
- Pine Siskin – 13 to 17 days
- Red-bellied woodpecker – 24 to 27 days
- Red-tailed hawk – 42 to 46 days
- Red-winged blackbird – 11 to 14 days
- Song sparrow – 9 to 12 days
- Tufted titmouse – 15 to 16 days
- Turkey vulture – 68 to 84 days
- White-breasted nuthatch – around 26 days
Some warblers can fledge in 1 week to 10 days, but that’s a rarity.
Likewise, baby birds of turkey vultures need up to 84 days before they can fend for themselves in the wild, which is also rare in the avian community.
The nestling period for most avian species is 2 to 4 weeks, and their baby birds are reasonably fledged by then.
However, fledglings aren’t necessarily independent of their mother or parents.
How Long Baby Birds Stay With Their Mother in the Wild
Baby birds don’t always leave their nests voluntarily. Sometimes, a fledgling may leave its nest inadvertently or prematurely.
Nestlings may fall from their nests, or mothers or parents might push their babies or chicks out of the nests if they are almost fledged and ready for the wild.
A partially fledged baby bird doesn’t abandon its mother, father, or nest, but rather, it lingers near the nest site, albeit on the ground, looking for food and trying to survive.
During this phase, the mother or both parents will likely observe or supervise the baby bird and feed it when possible.
Baby birds stay with their mother in the wild until they can sustain long flights.
The exception to this rule is the avian species that live in flocks. Or, there is another form of dependence on the mother.
That said, baby birds aren’t solely responsible for staying with their mother.
Parent birds might abandon a chick, irrespective of its stage of development, or die in the wild. These situations are when a baby bird is effectively orphaned.
If you find a lone baby bird or an entire brood in your backyard or garden, you can try to assess the condition to determine if you have hatchlings, nestlings, or fledglings.
Return a hatchling or a nestling to its nest.
Allow a fledgling to fend for itself, but orphaned baby birds are a different matter.
Call your local wildlife rehabilitator if or when you find an orphaned baby bird. If you must feed it, try to determine its age.
Don’t feed hatchlings, as untrained handling may choke the baby bird.
A nestling isn’t as vulnerable, but it needs baby bird food. Fledglings, however, are more adaptable.
You can use one of the following bird foods based on your assessment of the avian species and its age or condition:
- Kaytee Exact Bird Baby Food (available on Amazon.com) for hatchlings and nestlings of small avian species
- Kaytee Wild Bird Nut & Fruit Seed Blend (available on Amazon.com) for partially or fully fledged baby birds
- Kaytee Wild Bird Seed & Mealworm Cake (available on Amazon.com) for omnivorous fledglings or juveniles
- Kaytee Wild Bird Suet & Seed Cake (available on Amazon.com) for carnivorous and omnivorous immature birds
How Long Do Baby Birds Depend on Their Mother or Parents?
Baby birds depend on their mother or parents as long as they aren’t independent, and this isn’t limited to the ability to fly, as the case is for fledglings.
For instance, the babies of a mallard duck may be dependent on the mother for up to 60 days, which isn’t their nesting period.
Mallard ducks’ babies don’t have a nestling phase like songbirds or raptors.
The precocial avian species’ baby birds hatch with eyes open and are capable of walking, swimming, and feeding in hours or almost immediately.
Hence, they venture into the wild within a day.
But the ducklings’ dependence on the mother remains.
Likewise, American flamingo babies are dependent on their mother and father for food, which is a type of milk secreted in both parents’ upper digestive tracts.
The milk secretion is facilitated by a hormone called prolactin.
Flamingo chicks require 2 months to 11 weeks to develop the hooked bill that enables them to forage in the wild to feed on their own.
Thus, baby flamingos stay with their mother and father for around 3 months, which is also the time they need to have fully developed flight feathers.